Lloegyr-Heorot Hall
Those Who Have Gone Before Us A King's Hall The Great Hall of King Castus is Caerlot, a heavily fortified castle and large enough to house all of his Earls and their Honor Guards at the same time. It is in this castle that the kingdom is governed, lords rise and fall, and most important agreements are made. It is also the Seat of Arim in Lloegyr, meaning that the most powerful clergymen also reside there. The court largely functions as a place where the Earls meet and offer council, although the King’s own Honor Guard is also there (and obviously of great importance). You will also find the holy men of the Aels, the nobles of the Vincians, and even some Kraki and Wahla of note. How they interact, and how Lloegyr functions, depends on the interaction of all these factions: a peace held together by the honor the king. =The Structure of the Kingdom= "Castus, King of the Heorot and Aels, Protector of the Vincians, Lord of all Lloegyr." That is the king's title, and in it, you see the carefully crafted position of King Castus. His power stems from several elements: *By birth, he is King of the Heorots. *By marriage, he rules the Aels, but did so through his wife, Jenevra, before his exile. Now, he rules through his daughter, Ala. *The Duke of Vincia owes him fealty. *The actual power behind his crown comes from both his personal Honor Guard (which administers to the kingdom) and his Earls, who are sworn to him. It is through his Guard and Earls that he is actually Lord of all Lloegyr. While the Wahla might take exception to the claim "Lord of All Lloegyr" (as they are an independent people, and do live on the island), as far as most are concerned, Castus' reign has not been contested since the Battle of Bruna decades ago. When the Aelic Wizard Caledon convinced Jenevra's mother to give Castus his daughters hand in marriage (and swear obedience as part of the vows), the union between the two people was completed, and unshaken until Jenevra shattered her vow and brought the Moorstepper to Lloegyr. Further, with the fealty of the Duke of Vincia, Castus has brought both tribute and "wards" to his realm, the latter proving even more valuable than the former due to their administrative abilities. However, with the king on his deathbed, the queen in exile, and their heirs in question, this balance of power is not likely to last. And if it breaks, the Matter of Lloegyr will be decided by the Honor Guard and the Earls. The Honor Guard The power of the King's Honor Guard cannot be ignored: they see to the day-to-day affairs of Lloegyr, and advise him on policy. Without them, the realm would not function. The Honor Guard consists of the most powerful individuals in the land... and many of them are not Heorot at all. They consist of: *The King's Champion, Angus, Lion of the Aels. Cousin to Jenerva and of the royal Onellen tribe, he is not only the king's best friend, but his greatest warrior, and a famed general. He command the king's personal guard of 2,000 warriors. *The King's Steward, Ala, Princess of the Heorots. The king's daughter, she inherited her mother's title as High Priest of Danna, and thus controls the Aels. Which is a precarious position, because she herself is of the Faith of Arim. *The King's Skalk, Caledon. This Aelic wizard masterminded the union of the Aels and Heorots, and has advised the king for decades. *The King's Cup-Bearer, Finn, Earl of Farpont. The king's oldest friend, who fought with him since both were boys, and remains always at the king's side. Notably, he is the only full-blooded Heorot on the King's Honor Guard. *The King's Chancellor, Mark. An Aelic man by birth, he sees to important ceremonies and feasts, but spends most of his time in Vincia, attending to the Duke and seeing to Castus' interests. *The King's Cofferer, The Count of Northmere. A Vincian noble who sees to tributes, taxes and other financial matters. *The King's Justice, Aldred the Young. The son of the Earl of Timber and his Aelic wife, Aldred is charged with keeping the King's peace, and seeing that his Earls distribute justice in a fair manner. *The Seneschal, The Baroness of Baymark. A talented noblewoman who handles most of Castus' day to day affairs, and bears his seal. It bears mentioning that two of Castus' Honor Guard are Vincian, as the Vincian have recently initiated a Shadow Court. The Shadow Court consists primarily of ambitious Vincian noblemen who dwell in Lloegyr, and make it clear that they are prepared to step into their counterpart's position if need be. There is a Vincian prepared to be the Skalk, for example, and a Vincian prepared to become the Justice. While they claim that their court is merely tradition in their native land for ensuring continuity in the realm, many Heorots have noted that their is no member of the Shadow Court prepared to take the place of the King's Champion or Steward... and that the king's bastard, Draught, already has a powerful Kraki wife and Kraki champion who came with her dowry. As for the Kraki in the court, they are primarily loyal to Draught's wife, Solde. If Solde has any ambitions of her own, she has kept them quiet, but she is a Princess in her own right... the daughter of the Kraki king, Rolf. The Vincians (who have lost quite a bit of land to the Kraki) pay particular attention to the newest addition to the court... again, a concern for the Heorots. The Heorot Earls Even without his Honor Guard, Castus still holds the loyalty of the Heorot Earls. The Earls control the majority of Lloegyr... in his own lands, every Earl is king of sorts. Some Earls have ruled these lands for generations, before there even was a King of the Heorots. Others, are younger sons who travelled north, married Aelic priestess (usually of Danah), and "rule" over Aelic lands. This sort of Earl is much less powerful: while they might control land in theory, they only have power through their wives. In such cases, these "Little Earls" are really just figureheads for their wives. Whether it is the Earl of his wife who wields power, they form the basic political unit of Lloegyr. As long as the Earls follow the King, the King rules. This is the reason Castus regularly called them to his Great Hall at Caerlot... they were his power base, and it is best to keep them close. However, should the Earls split (as they are likely to do if both Ala and Draught contest the throne), then there would be no clear ruler on the isle. While the Honor Guard wields an significant amount of power, the Earls are more influential in their individual lands. It is customary for the Earls to meet at court during the Ides (the full moon) of every month, as this time is holy to both Arim and the Dunmar-Gog. In the midst of religious ceremonies and festivals, they do business, discuss politics, and see to the affairs of the Realm. As of late, these meetings have taken a darker tone, first with the threat of the Moorstepper, and now with the bleak truth that king is unlikely to live out the year. An Earl is almost always warlord, and the title is typically hereditary, and there were about two dozen of them before the Moorstepper came. Now, there’s only about a dozen. The primary strength of an Earl is derived from the number of his warriors: the strongest has several hundred, and the weakest only a few score. Like the king, an Earl is attended by his Honor Guard, which might include any of the following: *His Champion, typically his greatest warrior. While all Heorot champions are male, a number of Aelic champions are women. *His Steward, who sees to his gold and accounts. The nobles of Vincia have often earned places in an Earl’s honor guard in this manner, although it is also common for his wife or daughter to fill this role. *His Skalk, or advisor, who is either a priest of Arim or (much more rarely) an Aelic Wizard. The latter typically only happens if a Heorot Earl marries an Aelic priestess. *His Cup-Bearer, who is typically an honored warrior, brother, or someone known for their loyalty. The Cup-Bearer can stand for the Earl when he is not present. *His family members, and sometimes other warriors who attend to him. =Other Nobles= The Heorot system of Earls and Honor Guards is the dominant force in Lloegyr, but not the only one. At the very least, a Heorot Earl ought be familiar with the tribes of the Aels and nobility of the Vincians. It would also serve him to have at least some knowledge of his neighbors... the Wahla, the Kraki, and even the Guth. The Tribes of the Aels The Aels do not have nobles as the Heorots do. They are a tribal people, ruled by their Priestess, and by their royal tribe, the Onellen. Each tribe is essentially an extended family, but due to the traditions of the Dunmar-Gog, they can be extremely fluid. The most important of these traditions is that each tribe must have a priestess for each month, except for Viltem (which has no holy women). Generally, the priesthood is matrilineal... but there is an exceptional complication. Each priestess must be "touched" by the Dunmar-Gog, and their chosen god is almost always determined by their birth moon. As such, fostering is extremely common. While most priestess are practical enough to time their first pregnancy so that their child will be born under their own moon, there are many exceptions. It is very normal for a priestess to try to claim a female child of the appropriate moon as their foster daughter, which means that many priestesses have two mothers. This results in a very tight-knit tribe, where extended relations are extremely important. It also means a typical Ael puts more value in "kinship" (meaning their tribe) than their immediate family (which might be somewhat difficult to explain to outsiders). There is also a great threat to any priestess: it is difficult to produce an heir to their position, and fostering does not always work. When a priestess dies with no daughter or adopted daughter to take her place, the position is usurper by another holy woman. Usurpation is generally considered unlucky for all those involved, and the Aels go through great lengths to avoid it. Famously, there is a legend of Eveleise the Usurper, who disrupted the direct line of the Onellen High Priestess of Danna... but most Aels refuse to mention the story in polite company. (For more information, see usurpers The tribe of Onellen bears special mention, as it is considered the First Tribe of the Aels. This tribe is believed to be descended from Danna herself, and the priestesses of this tribe have authority over all Aels. Jenevra and her daughter Ala were obviously of this tribe, as is the King's Champion, Angus. The Onellan position is supported by the fact that as far back as anyone can remember, the High Priestess of Danna has always birthed a daughter of the appropriate moon, allowing them to claim an unbroken line back to the first Queen of the Aels. Recently, the Heorots of the North have taken to marrying into Aelic tribes, to cement the alliance between the two peoples. Depending on whether they could negotiate an oath from their wives, these Little Earls have varying degrees of power, and the tribes themselves have generally maintained their independence from Heorot law. However, the Heorot tradition has tremendous appeal for the untouched or Aelic males, and many Aels have begun to turn their back on the Old Ways. A famous example is Mark, the King's Chamberlain, who enjoys a tremendous degree of power, and stays far away from the lands of his birth. The Vincian Nobles Compared to a Vincian, a Heorot Earl has a very simple existence: he is either a Thane (a nobleman who holds no land or vassals), an Earl (to whom Thanes are sworn, and who serve the king), or the King himself. The Vincian system has many more levels of hierarchy, as each Vincian noble can hold his or her own lands, in the name of his or her liege, who in turn holds his or her lands from another liege... and so on. At the top of the Vincian nobility is the Duke of Vincia, who controls the entirety of Vincian lands, and is sworn to Castus as a vassal. He has three vassals, the Count of Northmere, the Count of Markelle, and the Count of Pendrose. The Count of Pendrose and his vassals are dispossessed at the moment: their lands were seized by the Kraki a decade ago. However, the Count of Markelle and the Count of Northmere both hold significantly more lands than any Heorot Earl (Markelle is the size of Lloegyr itself, although less populated). The Counts have various Barons sworn to them, and the Barons have Lords sworn to them (who may or may not hold land of their own). Generally, Vincian primogeniture passes all lands to the eldest son of a noble, followed by his children. If a son has no children, it would pass to his siblings... first his brothers, then his sisters. Unlike the Heorots, women can hold lands and titles in this tradition, a woman would rule independently of her husband (of course, both her title and her husband would pass to her eldest child). A noble may offer titles to any other nobleman, and it is generally accepted that a nobleman will create vassals out of his siblings. There is a taboo against a noble marrying one his or her vassals, or another of the same station (typically, it is a higher-born man to a lesser-born woman, but not always). This has two effects: first, it stabilizes the number of titles in Vincia; second, most nobles of Vincia are related in a half-dozen ways. As part of the Duke of Vincia's vassalage, a full third of all adult nobles must attend to Castus' Great Hall as "wards" (a nicer name than "hostages.") This was actually the Duke's suggestion... having lost a third of his lands, he needed to lose a third of his nobles as well, and he has greatly solidified his power over his vassals in the last decade. It also brings a significant influence to Caerlot; the Vincians have brought much more sophisticated systems of taxation, estate law, and justice to the isle. They also brought with them an unprecedented level of intrigue, quickly earning the enmity of most Heorot Earls. Other Lands The Wahla strongly resemble the Heorots in their rulership: they have a hereditary king (although they call their Earls "Princes" even if they are not of relation to the king). Until extremely recently, the Wahla were almost all practitioners of the Old Ways, although the priestesses had no political power. Instead, they organized into clans, which are like tribes in that they are extended families, but ruled by the eldest member of their nobility. The Wahla practice primogeniture without any regard for gender: while the king is male, and so was his father, his grandmother was Queen. The political structure of the Wahla means they have proven far easier to convert to the Faith of Arim than the Aels... King Pryd is one of the faithful, as are many of his Princes. The Kraki have Earls, much like the Heorots, but their king is not hereditary. Instead, upon the death of the king, they elevate one of their own to the throne. King Rolf is the son of King Gar, but Gar was largely king based upon the strength and ability of his son. Likewise, Earls are chosen from within a band of warriors when their leader dies. While some leaders make it their life's work to provide their children the power to follow them, every Kraki noble seizes his own power. Women often manage to become Earls, and sometimes even Queens, if they can claim enough support. This makes Solde, Rolf's daughter, very unpredictable, for she has the allegiance of Geist, a prominent young war-captain, and it is likely Rolf's champion, Odvar, will support her if she makes a claim to succeed her father. Little is known about the Guth, save that they are also of the Faith of Arim. However, they have a somewhat different structure to their faith that is affects their kingship: the clergy of Arim there is largely female, and often of their noble family. All of Guthlund obeys Olaf II, son of Olaf I, who still seems to harbor his father's dream of conquering Lloegyr. =Status (Nobility)= In and of itself, Status (Nobility) only denotes how prestigious an individual is within a culture. The greater one's status, the more prestige, but not necessarily the more political power. It generally places an individual within a hierarchy, but that hierarchy is specific to each culture. Status (Nobility-Heorot) requires an individual to be of Heorot blood, and he or she must be the child of another noble. However, there are only three ranks of Heorot nobility: the King, his Earls (who hold both land and vassals), and Thanes (everyone else of noble blood). Women cannot hold the title of Thane, but can still hold status (they are sometimes called "Lady.") An individual's status is largely based upon his or her value in the King's eye: a Thane might have very high status if he is a member of the King's Honor Guard, while a Little Earl might not hold much at all. However, there is one hard and fast rule: no noble can be sworn to a noble of equal or lower status. This represents the fact that if you swear to someone, that individual can claim your prestige as their own. The Wahla also practice this form of nobility, although their titles differ, and they do not account for gender. Their three titles are King (or Queen), Prince (or Princess), and Lord (or Lady). Kraki nobility is almost identical to Wahla nobility, except that it is not hereditary. They use the same titles as the Heorots. Vincian nobility is extremely hierarchal and based on birth: the only way to increase status is for someone ahead of you in line to die. An heir generally has the same status as his or her parent, but without reference to any land (so that the son of the Count of Markelle is simply called a Count). If a noble has land, they are always referred to by their landed title (i.e. The Baron of Wode); if a noble has no land, they are referred to by their title and then their given name (i.e. Baron Roland). An individuals status is determined by their birth and title: *Status 1: Lord or Lady *Status 2: Baron or Baroness *Status 3: Count or Countess *Status 4: Duke or Duchess As there is no King of Vincia, there is no Status (Nobility-Vincian) 5. Mechanically, Barons and Counts may possess both the Lord and Vassal or Mentor or Retainer merits. They may still only have a single Lord or a single Mentor, but the nature of Vincian nobility allows for them to exist in a tiered hierarchy. The Aels have no nobles... the only status they recognize is that of the Dunmar-Gog. Finally, it is possible to possess Status in multiple nobilities. A child of a Heorot Earl and Vincian Baroness could claim status in both cultures, and even earn status amongst the Kraki if they earned it. Return to the Main Page